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Goal: The present paper aims to investigate what are the main implications of Industry 4.0 technologies for production management. Design / Methodology / Approach: The study was carried out through a survey with companies of the metal-mechanic and automotive industry of the Curitiba Metropolitan Region (Brazil) and of the Upper Bavaria Region (Germany) in order to determine the overall implementation level of technologies commonly associated with Industry 4.0 and their respective impacts to operations performance objectives. Results: The results reveal that the overall implementation and improvement levels of the Industry 4.0 technologies is higher in Germany than in Brazil. Regarding the technologies, the Internet of Things presented one of the highest overall improvement levels for both regions, showing that the adoption of these technology could bring significant improvements for all performance objectives. Limitations of the investigation: The results obtained with the present research refer only to the scenario of Curitiba and Metropolitan Region and the Upper Bavaria Region, more specifically from the companies of the metal-mechanic and automotive sectors and may differ from other sectors or regions. Practical implications: From this research, companies that are willing to invest in new technologies can find a starting point to understand the benefits that they can possibly achieve based on results obtained from companies that have already adopted the technologies in Brazil and Germany. Originality / Value: Studies that formally discuss the implications of the Industry 4.0 technologies for production management are lacking. Most studies focus excessively on the technologies without approaching their impact on management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the number of spermatozoa per artificial insemination (AI) dose and managing semen in ways to ensure greater quality at the same time represents current challenges with sperm processing in pig AI centers. Based on a multi-year comparative analysis of process steps in different pig AI centers, and complementary experimental studies under standardized laboratory conditions, current process standards for the preservation of boar semen have been updated and new ones developed. Currently, these standards represent an integral part of the quality assurance of 29 European pig AI centers in ten different organizations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Improvement of hygiene management and guidelines for prudent use of antibiotics have become key issues. Furthermore, new quality control tools have been implemented in the processing and transport of boar semen: e.g. refractometry as an easy-to-use tool to estimate extender osmolarity and 'mobile sensing' apps for continuous monitoring of various environmental parameters. Moreover, based on a series of experiments under laboratory and field conditions, guidelines for optimizing the dilution process, and time and temperature management during boar semen processing, have been developed and implemented. Similarly, recommendations for the handling of semen doses during storage have been renewed. Over the years, the efficiency of the quality assurance system has been reflected by a decrease of bacterial contamination and a concomitant increase in the quality of semen doses. In conclusion, science-based quality assurance is an effective way to improve the production performance in pig AI centers, resulting in high quality and economically-priced semen for pig producers. Increasing knowledge of sperm physiology together with computational and technical innovations will continue to develop and modify quality assurance concepts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]